Review body sets out recommendations on teachers’ pay

The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) has set out its recommendations on the structure of teachers’ pay, with particular focus on pay for leadership roles.

Its 23rd report, 2014 sets out the STRB’s analysis of evidence and makes recommendations on head teachers’ pay, allowances, and terms and conditions.

On leadership pay, its recommendations include:

A simple three-stage approach to help governing bodies set pay when appointing new head teachers, requiring them to assess the particular challenges and circumstances of the school and judge the extent to which these, together with the skills they are looking for, need to be reflected in the head’s individual pay range.

The removal of the complex rules on starting salary and differentials with the wider leadership team, and removing pay points within broad pay bands to help governing bodies better manage school leaders’ performance and reward, with individual decisions on the size of progression increase based on performance.

The STRB has also recommended a similar approach for the pay of deputy and assistant head posts, including removing the current inflexible rules on differentials, to enable flexible career paths into leadership roles and allow leadership teams to adapt more easily to the changing needs of a school.

The report stated: “In considering our recommendations, we have built on principles we set out in our 21st report on pay for classroom teachers: increased autonomy for schools to respond to local circumstances within a broad national framework; appropriate reward allied to accountability; and simplification of the existing pay system so governing bodies can use it effectively and with confidence.”